National Refugee Shabbat – March 5-6

On March 5-6, 2021, Congregation Har HaShem will join over 300 congregations nationwide to participate in HIAS’ National Refugee Shabbat, a Shabbat experience dedicated to supporting refugees and asylum seekers.

During National Refugee Shabbat, the American Jewish community will dedicate sacred time and space to reflect upon our moral responsibility to protect immigrants based upon our own collective history of oppression, displacement and being strangers in lands not our own. It will provide an opportunity to raise awareness, recognize the work that is already being done to help support refugees, and reaffirm our commitment to welcoming vulnerable, displaced persons in our own community.

National Refugee Shabbat Weekend Events

Torah Study Group & Weekend Services

March 5-6

Aliza Acker will lead Torah Study on March 6 with a Refugee Shabbat theme. In addition, Shabbat and Havdalah Services this weekend will feature the refugee stories our own Har HaShem members. Find Zoom links here.

Motus Theater Performance with Caroline Saliman

Saturday, March 6, 6:30-8:00 pm

Caroline Saliman, beloved Har HaShem teacher, camp counselor and tutor, will be reading aloud Armondo Peniche’s autobiographical story This Beautiful Dark Brown Skin, a story of racial profiling experienced by a 12-year old boy and the danger of slanderous rhetoric to an undocumented man and his American son.

The reading will be followed by both personal and theological reflections on the importance of sacred hospitality, and the impact of stepping into the shoes of an undocumented neighbor. Each monologue is followed by a musical response from acappella soloist Teresita Lozano who hails from a Mexican crypto-Jewish background.

This performance will be free. It is part of Motus Theater’s Shoebox Stories project and We Were Strangers Series – a collaboration with Jewish leaders who read aloud the stories of undocumented persons and reflect upon seeing the world through the eyes of an immigrant.

Register Here